1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an air conditioning system for providing separate, zoned air-conditioning in different areas of the interior of a vehicle.
2. Related Technology
With a view to the rising demands for comfort placed by users on modern automotive vehicles, it has become the standard, as a matter of fact, to equip passenger cars with an air conditioning system. High demands for comfort are met by air-conditioning systems by means of which the different areas or zones of the interior of the automotive vehicle can be set to different temperatures. Air conditioning systems with separate temperature setting in the right and the left half of the passenger compartment are already available in vehicles of the lower middle class for example.
Further improvement may be achieved by air conditioning the rear zone of the passenger compartment independently of the first row of seats. Separate temperature setting in the right and the left half of this rear zone has also already been realized. Due to the very high construction expense associated hereto before with such type three or four zone air conditioning systems, these are to be found only in vehicles of the upper middle class or in the upper class.
A multiple zoned air conditioning system comprising a modular structure is known from DE 103 282 75A1. A one to four zone air conditioning system may be realized with one unitary base member by interchanging one single module. The modular structure therefore permits to equip a plurality of vehicles with one and the same base member of an air conditioning system and to then turn the air conditioning system into a one or multiple zoned air conditioning system adapted to the standard of the automotive vehicle by selecting the appropriate module. Such standardized construction translates into a profound savings in cost. The disadvantage of the air conditioning system known from DE 103 282 75A1, however, is that the partial flows of cool and warm air that are to be mixed in the multiple zone module have to cover a quite long distance and, what is more, not in a straight line, which presents considerable disadvantages in terms of fluid flow.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to indicate a multiple zoned air conditioning system that is simpler in design and still more efficient.